2015: The Year According to Na Kim

To commemorate the year that was, we invited an array of artists, writers, designers, and curators—from graphic designer Michael Oswell to filmmaker Tala Hadid, artist Adam Pendleton to the Black Futures project—to share a list of the most noteworthy ideas, events, and objects they encountered in 2015. See the entire series 2015: The Year According to.

After receiving her MFA in 2008 from the Werkplaats Typografie (Arnhem, NL), Na Kim launched her own Seoul-based studio. Most recently, Kim has been an artist-in-residence at Doosan Gallery in New York since July 2015 (and concluding in December 2015).

SET in New York

Since this past July, I’ve been staying in New York for a six-month artist residency program at Doosan Gallery. During this stay, I created a solo exhibition in addition to publishing an artist book—both of which are titled SET.

SET, the solo exhibition of Na Kim—one of the DOOSAN Artist Awards 2013 recipients—was on exhibit from October 8th–November 5th, 2015 at Doosan Gallery in New York. With a background in graphic design, Na Kim creates expansive work that freely traverses the boundary between fine art and design. By doing away with pre-existing rules and symbolic meanings, Kim studies the essential elements in form, rearranging it based on its geometric standards. In SET, Kim’s work from the past 10 years will be exhibited in one space, and a namesake catalogue will be shown as part of the exhibition. Regardless of production year, medium, commission, etc, the catalogue comprises of design and other works that are reordered according to the visual elements found in each work. The production and editing of this catalogue is a collaborative effort with graphic designer Joris Kritis. As it is the first time Kim has handed over the designer role to another person, she intends to redefine the notion of the artist and the designer’s role. Along those lines, the wall and floor space of the exhibition will be divided in a similar proportion as the catalogue’s design, then the works in the catalogue will be made into wall drawing, serving as the set for a performance that will coincide with the visual aspects of Kim’s work. In this way, Kim’s work brings out the intrinsic distinctions between fine art and design, tearing down the boundaries of process and form. And by expanding into the realm of installation and performance, the artist shows the possibilities of a cohesive and unified body of work. It is these reconstituted and restructured heterogeneous elements that point towards and reveal new meaning and potential.

Je suis Kiri

The whole world was shocked by the shooting at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Paris endured additional terror attacks in the latter part of this year, but the Charlie Hebdo attack was the starting point of the debates on many aspects against terrorism in Europe. I became aware of Hara-Kiri—a former body of Charlie Hebdo which had been more progressive and daring than now—as a result of this tragedy. RIP the brave, Stupid and Vicious. Look at those covers!

The French journal Hara-Kiri was a satirical journal published once per month. The journal contains many insults, plenty of black humor, abominations, vile pictures, and really harsh writing. The main featured themes were adult content, violence, body horror, as well as political provocations. See more amazing covers.

Tourists use a selfie stick outside The Louvre in Paris, which is expected to follow Versailles and ban the selfie stick from inside the building.

A few years ago I saw a concept image for the MMM Corners museum and immediately thought that I have never seen such an aggressive and stupid work of architecture before. And now, unfortunately, it’s real.

“Why has there been such a boom in art book fairs?”—Supporting Yannick’s point, there were 2 events in Seoul in the past year. One is Goods, the (sort of) alternative art fair and the other is Unlimited Edition, the art book fair already in its 7th year. This kind of culture, comparably, has a short history, but both of these art/book fairs were a great success in attracting visitors. Additionally, young artists and designers are finding their own way to exhibit and sell their art works or products. Read more about Goods.

After 30 years

I have to admit that I was a fan of Michael J. Fox. Not only did the Back to the Future trilogy celebrate the 30th anniversary of its beginning this year, but the moment in the future that Marty McFly travels to—October 21, 2015—was also celebrated. I miss these adorable guys—Dr. Brown and Marty, from my childhood.

Na Kim, Identity for Art Sonje Center, 2015

Identity for ASJC

I designed a new visual identity for Art Sonje Center in Seoul, which they began applying to their website and materials this year.

Na Kim, Identity for Art Sonje Center, 2015

Na Kim, Identity for Art Sonje Center, 2015

Na Kim, avatar

Want to transform yourself?

It’s easy and fun. My Idol is an amazing new app for making avatar. A great way to kill time, but in certain moments quite scary.